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My Sister's Shepard, Ch. 1
My Sister's Shepard, Ch. 2
1237183_verbmynoun_mss.doc
Keywords male 1173887, female 1063943, canine 186299, girl 91198, woman 28658, man 18459, death 11934, dalmatian 10479, clean 10345, brother 7522, sister 7418, australian shepherd 1268, no sex 1229, grief 143, mourning 136, nosex 80, extra cuteness 1
October 22, 2013
Winter Creek, CO


Nathan Shepard sat slumped in his chair at the dining table, the plate of pork chops and rice growing cold. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was messy and unkempt, and his clothes were wrinkled and soiled. He had also not shaved in three weeks which added to his severely unkempt appearance. The stench of his unwashed body was noticeable from the opposite side of the table where his girlfriend, Valerie, sat, eating quietly. Her expression was pained and worried over his decline over the past month.

He couldn’t sleep. His appetite had diminished to nothing, and his muscular frame had dropped several pounds. He would only shower when Val would come over and make him. It had been eight months since Pappy passed away. He had taken the loss pretty hard, but Mamma, was devastated. Without her mate, the Shepard family matron gave up the fight, and passed away seven months later.

Every night since, he sat alone in the spacious house, surrounded by the ghosts and memories of days long gone, unable to relive them. He would go to bed, only to wake up several times throughout the night and sit alone in the darkness with his girlfriend sleeping quietly beside him. If not for the pretty Dalmatian’s love and support, he probably would be well on his way to following his grandparents into the afterlife, but she gave him something to live for. He just had to find a way to let go of the past and move on with his life. The problem was that he didn’t know how.

“Come on, babe,” Val said softly, taking him by the paw and giving him a gentle tug. He hadn’t even noticed that she had gotten up and cleared the table. “Let’s take a shower and go to bed.”

~~~~~


He was awakened from his fitful sleep by a gentle nudge on his shoulder. He let out a groan and cracked his eyelids, letting in the offending sunlight.
“Nate,” his girlfriend said gently. “Wake up, babe. You have company.”
“Send them away,” he muttered, grabbing the pillow from her side of the bed and covering his face with it.
“I don’t think I can,” she said. “It’s the police. It’s about your mom.”

~~~~~


A few minutes later, he emerged from his bedroom and padded his way out into the living room where two officers were seated, talking politely with Valerie. Upon his arrival, they stood up to greet him.

“Mister Shepard,” the first officer, a male polar bear, said. “I’m Sergeant O’Connor.”

“Lieutenant Thomas,” the second officer, a female jerboa, said. “Thank you for seeing us, Sir.”

“What’s this about?” he asked, shaking both of their paws and sitting down on the loveseat. Valerie sat down next to him, wrapping her paws around his bicep and cuddling in close. “Something about my mom? I don’t know what kind of trouble she’s in, officers, but she walked out on me twenty years ago, and other than the occasional birthday card, I ain’t heard a peep from her since.”

“She’s dead, Sir,” the bear said.

“How?” Nathan asked with a frustrated sigh as he scratched the back of his neck. “When?”

“We don’t have any leads or witnesses yet, but all signs point to murder. She disappeared three days ago,” the jerboa answered. “Her body was found in an alley, half-naked, traces of semen in her fur. Her clothes and bruises indicate there was a struggle.”

“I see,” he said softly. “What do you need from me?”

“Well,” Sergeant O’Connor answered, “she didn’t have a will, but as her oldest surviving relative, it falls on you to handle her final arrangements. Also, it’s up to you to pay these expenses, or else her assets will be used to cover the cost. There’s also the matter of your sister.”

His ears perked at that last part. “Sister?”

The two officers looked at each other, apparently caught off-guard by the fact he didn’t know about his younger sibling. Sergeant O’Connor gave his partner a slight nod, and the jerboa woman explained, “Mister Shepard, her name is Piper. She’s six.”

Nathan’s head begin to swim as he tried to process all of this new information. When he went to bed the night before, he believed that he had no family left, only to wake up to the news that he had a younger sister that he had never known about. Having a six year old running around the house and playing games would certainly bring back some of the color that had been missing from his life. Valerie hugged him tighter, lending him the strength that he needed to continue.

“What’s going to happen to her?” he asked.

“Well, that’s entirely up to you, Mister Shepard,” Officer Thomas explained. “As her only relative, you are the first and best choice, as far as custody goes. That is, if you’re interested.”

“I am,” he stated, trying not to let his eagerness show.

“Then there’s the matter of Child Protective Services coming in and making sure that you are a responsible adult capable of safely raising a little girl in a nurturing environment,” Sergeant O’Connor added. “They’ll take a look around the property, check for hazards and things like that, and they’ll watch how the two of you interact with each other.”

“Of course,” Nathan answered. “They need to do what’s best by her. So, when can I meet her?”

“In just a minute,” Lieutenant Thomas said as she rose up onto her footpaws and walked to the door. “She’s right outside.” She opened the door and waved for some other people to join them.

Nathan was suddenly thankful that Valerie made him shower last night.

~~~~~


He smiled awkwardly at the little girl seated across from him. His mind raced to figure out what to say, but he didn’t know what. Still, he figured anything would be better than the deafening quiet. “Hello, Piper. I’m Nathan, your brother. It’s nice to meet you.”

The young Australian Shepherd pup fidgeted nervously and bit her bottom lip. “Hewwo, Nafan,” she said cutely, yet shyly.

“It’s okay,” he told her reassuringly, “I understand it if you’re scared. I kind of am, too. An hour ago, I had no clue that I had a little sister.” She was the most adorable thing he had ever seen, standing no more than three-and-a-half feet tall, with bouncy, wavy brown hair and heterochromic eyes: one blue, the other brown. Other than her eyes, she was the spitting image of their mother, Kristie, when she was younger; Mamma and Pappy had still kept pictures up around the house of their wayward daughter.

“Mommy talked about you a lot,” Piper replied. “She has books and books full of pitchas and newspaypa stowies about you gwowing up, and wettas fwom Gwandma and Gwandpa.”

The revelation came as a shock Nathan. His grandparents had been in contact with his mother? Why hadn’t they said anything to him about it? Why hadn’t she written him, or called? Why didn’t anyone tell him he had a baby sister? A slight anger rose up in the pit of his stomach, but he suppressed it; his grandparents and mother must have had their reasons, and they were no longer here to explain. It was time to let the past go and get to know the little girl that was being placed in his care.

“When your things get here, maybe you could show me?” he asked with a sorrowful smile.

“I’d wike that,” she said, flashing him a heart-melting grin.

“What else do you like, Piper?”

“Hmmm,” she said thoughtfully, placing her finger on her chin, biting her bottom lip, and rolling her eyes as she considered her answer. “I wike Weese’s Peanut Butta cups... and lazzonya… and the ‘Bwave’ movie... My Widdle Pony… and Estwid.” She held up her doll: a cute little dragon made of purple corduroy, with pink yarn for hair and yellow buttons for eyes.

“Hello, Miss Estrid, it’s lovely to meet you,” he said, leaning forward to examine the toy. It was a little worse-for-wear, but clearly loved. “What about real ponies? I have two of them. Would you two ladies like to go out and see them?”

“Yes!” Piper shouted excitedly, leaping down out of the chair. “Come on, Estwid!”

~~~~~


He led his little sister and their guests out to the stables where two horses were eating their hay contented. Nathan approached a stall where the name ‘Cheyenne’ was carved above the door. Scooping Piper up into his arms, he put a carrot into her little paws and let her hold it out for the large animal to take. The palomino-colored quarter horse walked towards them, whickering happily as the young pup handed over the snack. Piper giggled and laughed excitedly as the mare began biting down the length of the carrot, while Nathan used his free paw to lovingly scratch behind the horse’s ear.

“This is Cheyenne,” he said to his little sister. “She’s nine years old, and very friendly. Aren’t you, girl? Miss Valerie rides her from time to time. The other horse,” he made a motion with his neck to the adjacent stall, “is named Apache. He’s eleven, but not quite as gentle as Cheyenne. He’s not mean or anything, he just gets a little too excited sometimes, and that makes him harder to manage, so I’m the only one that rides him.”
“Hewwo, Shy-anne,” Piper said happily, “you’we vewy pwetty.”

“Yes she is,” Nathan agreed. “Her mamma was your Grandma’s horse, Shawnee. We’ve raised her up ever since she was a little filly.”

“Nafan?” she asked cutely. “Can I wide huh?”

He looked to the social workers for guidance, and they conferred quietly between each other for a brief moment before the Canadian woman gave him a curt nod, both of the ladies smiling at the child’s enthusiasm. “I’ll tell you what, Piper,” he said, grabbing one of the saddles and hoisting it up onto the mare’s back, “you can ride Cheyanne, and Estrid can ride Apache. How does that sound?”

“Good idea,” his little sister said, looking serious. “I don’t want huh getting jewwous.”

“No, that would be a terrible way to start things off with her,” he played along. “Come here, Estrid.” He held out his paw, and Piper handed the doll over. He gently set the plush dragon on Apache’s back, but the stallion completely ignored the action as he lazily ate his hay.

Once he had the saddle properly secured, he gently lifted his little sister up and set her on Cheyenne’s back. He gave a gentle whicker, and led the horse out of the stable and into the adjacent enclosure, where he let the girl ride for nearly thirty minutes, talking back and forth about their likes, dislikes, their mother, and their grandparents. He caught a glimpse of the Colorado social worker gesturing for them to come back over, and he led the mare over to the fence.

“Mister Shepard,” she began, “my colleague and I have conferred, and we believe that that leaving little Piper in your care is the best decision for her well-being. Are you willing to accept responsibility for her? It is a lot of work, raising a child, but you seem to be the type of young man that isn’t afraid of hard work.”

“I’d be happy to,” he said, looking up at the little girl. “I have some questions, though.” When he saw the concerned expressions forming on the women’s faces, he explained, “Don’t worry, it won’t affect my decision. She needs me, and I’m realizing that I probably need her even more.”

~~~~~

“So that about sums it up. Everywhere I go around this town, I see someone or something that reminds me of my Mammy or Pappy… There’s just too many ghosts round here,” Nathan explained as they sat down in the living room. “I’ve had it in my head lately that I should take the money they left me and move away someplace. I just want to know if this whole thing with the custody transfer will keep me from looking for a bit.”

“Mister Shepard,” the local agent said, “I can only imagine how difficult this whole grieving process must be for you. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t make such an allowance, but…” She looked over to her Canadian colleague who nodded, and she continued. “With the deaths of a mother and two grandparents in such a short window of time, we believe that it would be acceptable to allow you to move while still under observation.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said with a courteous nod.

The woman from Canada spoke next. “Once you decide on where you are going to move to, let us know. We will get you in touch with a local caseworker in that area to inspect the new residence and make sure that it is suitable for Piper here, and to oversee the remainder of the probationary period.”

“Thank you both,” Nathan said.

“Are there any other questions?” they asked him.

“Just one,” he replied. “When can our mama’s belongings be delivered?”

~~~~~


“So you’re saying that you want to move away?” Valerie asked him as they lay in bed together that night, looking through all of the photo albums and scrapbooks his mother had collected over the years. Piper was curled up in a small ball in between them, holding on to the Dalmatian woman’s arm. “What does that mean for us?”

“Well, I was hoping you’d come along with us,” he answered. “You already spend most of your time here with me, anyways. What I’m asking is… Valerie Andromeda Zaritzky, would you move away with us?”

His girlfriend was shocked by the suggestion, tears forming in her eyes. “Of course I will! But… where would we go?”

“I don’t care,” he said. “As long as I have you and Piper, that’s all that matters. Mammy and Pappy left me with enough money that I don’t need to rush to land a job, so I can take my time and make sure we find a nice place that is good for all of us, and not just a paycheck.”

“You know,” Valerie said thoughtfully, “my friend, Amelia, told me not too long ago about an opening for a school nurse job at the high school where she works. Granted, it would be a step down from being a pediatrician, but it’s a private school, so I bet it still pays pretty well. Would you be interested in moving to Marblecliff, back to my hometown?”

“Your Daddy hates me,” Nathan said.

“No, he doesn’t,” she said as she cuddled up against him. “He’s just mad that I moved away, and it’s easier to pin the blame on you instead of his princess. But this is a chance for you to swoop in and be the man that brings his baby girl home. But we’d be someplace new, at least for you, with a small group of friends that I already have and can introduce you to, and family.”

“Is that something you’d seriously be interested in?” he asked his girlfriend.

“Yeah,” she said. “I mean, I don’t really want to be a school nurse, but if it’s still available, I could land that job pretty quickly with Amelia’s recommendation. Who knows how long it would take me to get into one of the local pediatric offices. But I could deal with it for a little bit while I look.”

“Okay, then,” Nathan said. “We’ll start looking at the countryside around Marblecliff.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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by Neosate
hree Shades of Ebon, Ch. 1
My Sister's Shepard, Ch. 2
hree Shades of Ebon, Ch. 1
My Sister's Shepard, Ch. 2
Show 2 More Pools...
First in pool
My Sister's Shepard, Ch. 2
First in pool
My Sister's Shepard, Ch. 2
This story was a long time coming!

Valerie made her first appearance almost 2 years ago, here: [smallthumb]347955[/smallthumb]

Nathan made his first appearance, and met Valerie, here:
My Mountain Home Chapter 1 by Cormenthor


Piper made her story debut here: [smallthumb]504220[/smallthumb]

And... Is Valerie's last name really Zaritzky??? Uh-oh.

All characters (c) me. Winter Creek, CO (c)
Cormenthor
Cormenthor
.
Keywords
male 1,173,887, female 1,063,943, canine 186,299, girl 91,198, woman 28,658, man 18,459, death 11,934, dalmatian 10,479, clean 10,345, brother 7,522, sister 7,418, australian shepherd 1,268, no sex 1,229, grief 143, mourning 136, nosex 80, extra cuteness 1
Details
Type: Writing - Document
Published: 4 months ago
Rating: General
MD5 Hash for Page 1... Show Find Identical Posts [?]
Stats
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